


Avoidant

by dvs



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-14
Updated: 2014-03-14
Packaged: 2018-01-15 18:09:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1314271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dvs/pseuds/dvs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What is outside the void? Nothing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Avoidant

**Author's Note:**

  * For [suzvoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suzvoy/gifts).



> Written for Suzvoy on her birthday. Happy birthday, Suz! :)

“What's outside the void?” Stiles whispers into the dark of his bedroom, blinking slowly up at the ceiling. It's hard to sleep with the moon shining so bright over his bed. It's a bright white full moon. 

Is that the sound of howling in the distance? 

“What's outside the void?” Stiles repeats, frowning, his mind feeling fuzzy, filled with cotton. 

_Nothing._

His eyes flit to the darkest corner of his bedroom where a shadow might be sitting watching him. Stiles looks away from it and closes his eyes. He repeats, “Nothing.”

The moon is so bright he can't sleep.

# *

_What's outside the void?_

Nothing.

_What's outside the void?_

Nothing.

“What?” Stiles snaps out of his daydream and looks at Scott. “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” Scott says, frowning at Stiles. 

They both return to their books. It's a nice day today, the sun streaming into the library and shining brightly on them, the light vanquishing even the possibility of anything or anyone casting a shadow. In this simple moment, Stiles doesn't fear the encroaching dark of night, or the shadows lurking in it. More so when Scott looks up from his book, his eyes darting around their surroundings, a mischievous look on his face that already has Stiles grinning in anticipation. 

_What's outside the void?_

Nothing, Stiles automatically thinks as Scott's eyes glow bright and warm.

# *

_What's outside the void?_

Nothing?

_What's outside the void?_

Nothing.

“What...” Stiles falters, losing his train of thought completely, before looking across the dinner table and grinning at his dad. “Is this?”

His dad looks down at what might be lasagne on his plate, pulling a very Stilinski face. He's a great sheriff and a great dad, but a cook? Not so much. Yet, this dinner table, this meal, that look on his father's face, it' eases a dark anxiety in Stiles' chest.

“I guess it looks a little... soupy,” his dad says, poking at his as yet uneaten dinner.

Stiles nods, eyes widening a little. “Yeah... a little.”

His dad nods back and sighs, putting down his fork. “Why don't I clear this up and you can order a pizza?”

“Or,” Stiles says looking down at his own plate, the contents of which smell better than they look, “We could see if we have some bread rolls and try the soup?”

“Try the soup?” He receives what is meant to be a stern look, until his dad laughs and shakes his head. “Smartass.”

_What's outside the void?_

Stiles frowns, the glowing amber circles of Scott's eyes spinning around his mind. He looks at the window, outside which the moon seems huge as if it's expanding towards him. He scowls and covers his ears, even though it's silent. 

“You okay, kiddo?” Stiles looks up at his dad who has a small basket of garlic bread, which he places on the table next to their slices of pizza. Stiles stares at his plate for a moment. “What's wrong?”

The thought has fled his mind. He shakes his head and says, “Nothing.”

His father picks up the basket of garlic bread and holds it out, his wedding ring shining gold around his finger.

# *

_What's outside the void?_

“Nothing. Or at least... that's what you're supposed to think.”

Derek is quiet. It's a trick. Derek is aware that if there is a silence, Stiles will fill it with noise and commentary. Wiley werewolf that he is, he's totally right.

“I mean, you know, you know that's not true,” Stiles says. “You know something's out there, everything is out there, but somehow, you don't believe it. There's this voice that keeps telling you _nothing_ , but... you have to remember it's not true.”

Stiles feels Derek's hand on his back, the warmth of his palm radiating through the thin cotton of Stiles' shirt. Stiles stays where he is, sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands gripping a sneaker, the other sneaker on his foot, laces waiting to be tied.

“You're out now. You don't have to think about it anymore,” Derek says quietly. Stiles turns his head to look at Derek who seems ridiculously handsome, lying in bed with the covers bunched around his waist, his body like something that should be in an art gallery on a pedestal.

Stiles shakes his head. “Seriously, how do you do that? I saw you eat two donuts earlier. What did you, like, turn them into more abs?”

Derek grins and it transforms his whole face from shade and sharp angles to brightness and warmth. They both smile at each other. Derek reaches out and gently tugs on Stiles' sleeve. “You okay?”

Stiles nods thoughtfully. “No. Not really.”

Derek sits up, leaning in close and asking, “What can I do?”

Stiles tilts his head and presses his mouth against Derek's, a gentle and patient kiss that starts off as a playful nudge, much more different to the storm Stiles brought into Derek's loft an hour ago. After they kiss, Stiles closes his eyes, letting his forehead rest against Derek's.

“You can,” Stiles says quietly and thoughtfully, “you know, carry on being naked. That... that really helps.”

Derek is laughing quietly. “Okay. What else?”

Stiles pulls away and looks at Derek. He gets a strange feeling when he looks at Derek sometimes, a strange heavy feeling in his stomach, coupled with a panicky fluttering in his chest. A feeling that made the other angry. Made him so angry. 

No... not angry. _Jealous_.

Stiles smiles. “The naked thing's working pretty well for me actually.”

Derek laughs. “I'll see what I can do.”

Stiles nods enthusiastically. “Cool. Oh and what about-?”

“I told you no dirty pictures, Stiles. I mean it,” Derek says, arching a brow at Stiles.

“Not even for personal use?” Stiles ask.

Derek squeezes his eyes shut and falls back against the pillows, muttering, “Oh god.”

Stiles laughs, because big bad wolves aren't meant to blush so hard and it's pretty funny when they do. Stiles looks at Derek's hand, opening for his. Taking it, Stiles sighs; it's good to be out...

There's a noise in the distance. A low rumble that makes Stiles sit up and look in its direction. 

Out... where?

Derek pulls him back down. “It's okay.”

Stiles shakes his head slowly. He feels the pull of the sound, as if a rope is tightening around his ribcage and tugging him away from Derek. Everything does not look so right. Something seems... off. 

“You're thinking too much,” Lydia says smoothly. He turns to find her sitting there wearing a pretty red slip, leaning on one hand, with her legs disappearing beneath the sheets.

“Lydia. What are you doing h... oh god,” he whispers. “This isn't...”

“Stiles, you talk too much,” Derek says, pulling Stiles back down. 

Stiles shoves Derek away. “No. Bad dog. Stay.”

“Stiles,” Lydia begins to reach for him.

Batting her hands away he says, “Hey, no means no. Bad... Lydia.”

Stiles jumps off the bed, backing away as he points at both Derek and Lydia who are lying there and smiling instead of scowling. He turns away from them, only to be startled by a huge circle of light in the room, which now seems as if it has always been here, waiting for him. 

“You don't have to go,” Derek says. Stiles turns to see Derek right behind him, dressed in a particularly tight white tank and black jeans. 

“Oh man,” Stiles mutters, staring at Derek's chest. “Never a break.”

“Seriously?” Derek asks. “You're going? Back out there where nothing is certain? You can be happy here, Stiles. You can have everything you want.”

Stiles nods. “Yeah. But it's not real, is it? Because there's _nothing_ here. You're not here. Lydia's not here. Neither is Scott, or my dad. It's just me. But out there? Out there is _everything_. Including... I dunno, including maybe the possibility of this.”

A werewolf howl shatters everything around Stiles, as if the world around him is a house of mirrors being pulled down. It's so loud Stiles' mouth falls open as he squeezes his eyes shut, falling back into the circle of light. When he opens them, the white of his surroundings is blinding and the sound of the werewolf call is rattling all the way into his ribcage. 

Stiles sees Scott and Lydia who have found their way in, found their way to him. He looks down at the game he doesn't even know he was playing.

_What's outside the void?_

He gives his opponent a defiant look.

_Everything._


End file.
